Dreams
by Iceman99
Summary: When faced with defeat, some give up. Some thrive in the pressure. Others crack. Through this, some gain new friends, new dreams, and new adventures. Slightly non-canon Ash. Review please.
1. Change of Heart

Today was supposed to be a very exciting day for a certain hat-wearing trainer with a Pikachu. However, things did not start off that way.

"Ash, come on!" Misty whined, "If you don't hurry up, we'll miss the Tour de Alto Mare!"

Ash groaned, and rolled over in his bed, not particularly liking Misty's whining, "Misty, you can go if you want to. I'm just not feeling up to doing anything today."

Brock decided to jump into the conversation at this point, "Ash, you haven't wanted to do anything since you lost in the Silver League Conference. I think doing this will not only help raise your spirits, but also your Pokémon's spirits. Do you think they've been taking this loss lightly?" he inquired.

Ash thought about Brock's suggestion. He always knew what to say when he was feeling sad, "Thanks Brocko," he replied with a smile, "I think I will participate. My Pokémon are probably down from my loss, too."

Misty nearly exploded from joy, seeing as the trio was finally going to the Tour de Alto Mare, and ran out of the room. Brock and Ash both sheepishly chuckled at her reaction.

Brock smiled back at Ash, and said, "No problem Ash. I knew you were feeling down, and I felt like it was my job to help you. You're like a brother to me."

Ash was touched by what Brock had just said to him, and said, "Brock, I view you as a brother as well. If you were in my shoes, I would've tried to cheer you up too."

Ash got out of his bed, waking Pikachu up in the process, and said Pikachu shocked him. After Ash recovered from the shock, he continued, "You know Brock, I'm not sure Misty remembered we're still on a boat. She couldn't even go to the Tour de Alto Mare yet if she wanted to." Ash pointed out, Pikachu now on his shoulder.

"You're right." Brock said with a chuckle, "Let's go find her." They then went out the door to find Misty.

* * *

Ash and Brock were tired of looking for Misty. The duo had searched all of the ship except for the training area.

'Where could she be?' Ash thought, 'We've searched everywhere except... for the... training area.' Ash finished.

"Hey Brock?" Ash inquired, "I just realized that we haven't even checked the training area yet."

Brock facefaulted after hearing this. After waiting for Brock to get back up, they proceeded to the training area, where Misty was training with her Corsola.

The Captain of the boat came over the speaker system, saying, "We will dock in Alto Mare in 30 minutes. Please get ready to depart the boat now." Ash and Brock then went to get Misty, and went to go grab their belongings.

* * *

"Alright, the Tour de Alto Mare starts in an hour. We need to register, so let's head to the Pokémon Center." Brock advised.

After registering Totodile for Ash and Corsola for Misty, they made their way to the event, meeting last year's champion, a man by the name of Ross, who they talked with until they had to start. They wished each other good luck, and got ready to race.

Brock sat in the stands, cheering for both Ash and Misty.

The race was going well, for the most part, with Ash, Misty, and a man named Ross alternating for the top spot. Everything was looking good for Ash until Totodile took a wrong turn, causing Ash to go off course.

"Aaaah!" Ash cried, as Totodile went off of the course, "Where are you taking me?!" he yelled. Totodile just looked back and smirked at him. Now, Ash wasn't mad at Totodile for going off course, he was scared that he would get lost in the city's canals.

Little did Ash know, he was being led by two legendary dragons, who were currently invisible.

* * *

Ash was frustrated. This was supposed to be a vacation, and here he was, lost in a maze of a city. He decided the best course of action was to go back to the starting line of the Tour de Alto Mare, which was where the winner would be announced. There was also a good chance someone was sent out to search for him, so it was the safest bet to find his way back to the starting line.

After numerous times of getting lost, at times even letting Pikachu guide him, Ash decided to ask a girl that was probably a few years older then him for directions. "Excuse me Miss?" Said girl turned around, and smiled, "Do you happen to know where the starting line for the Tour de Alto Mare is?" Ash inquired.

"Of course! If you just take that street down, and take your first right, you can't miss it." she said while pointing down a street to her left.

Ash sighed in relief. He actually knew where he was going, for once, "Thank you Miss..." Ash trailed off, looking for her name.

"Bianca. Just call me Bianca." She provided.

"Thanks for the directions Bianca! I'm Ash, and this is my best buddy Pikachu!"

"Pika!" chimed Pikachu.

Bianca giggled at Ash's energetic personality, and they both said their goodbyes, with Bianca telling Ash that he could stop by their house any time, and gave him directions, which, as we all know, is Ash's specialty. Thankfully, Pikachu had at least some sense of direction.

After walking for 10 more minutes, he was at the starting line. Ash spotted Brock in the crowd, and ran over to him. The race had just ended, and Misty was being awarded a medal.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Brock asking, "So how did you get lost? One second you were neck and neck with Misty and Ross, and the next, Totodile takes a wrong turn." Brock said in disbelief.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. He was following something, though. I'm sure of it. Although I didn't see anything besides the occasional Magikarp and some Chinchou." Ash replied, "It probably wasn't very important, though. Totodile stopped and let me get back to land after about 15 minutes, so he must've lost interest."

Brock nodded in agreement as Misty came over, Ross in tow. Ash noticed her medal, and asked her, "Hey Mist, what are those two Pokémon on the medal?"

"I'm not sure," she replied, "But hey, I won!"

After congratulations from Ash, Brock, and Pikachu, Ross approached Ash, asking him, "Ash, I remember you asked Misty about the two Pokémon on her medal. If you would like, I can take you on a tour of the city, and explain the legend behind those two." he offered.

The trio hastily accepted his offer.

* * *

Ash had never quite realized how beautiful the city of Alto Mare was. He was currently enjoying a tour of the city in Ross' gondola.

"Ross, could you tell us about those Pokémon now?" Ash asked.

"Sure," Ross replied, "The primarily blue Pokémon on Misty's medal is called Latios, whereas the primarily red one is called Latias. The story behind the two started when a Pokémon Trainer used a Kabutops and an Aerodactyl to terrorize the citizens. He was continuing to terrorize and destroy the city until the original Latios came to our city. He used his powers to drown the evil Pokémon, therefore turning the streets into canals. However, Latios died from using all of his energy, and his children were left orphans. His children are said to watch over and protect the city of Alto Mare. His soul is within a special jewel called the Soul Dew which is a beautiful small, blue glowing orb."

Ash was mesmerized by the information given to him, and started daydreaming about what they were like. Brock and Misty were also stunned at the story behind those two.

"What I would give to meet those two..." Ash trailed off.

Ross, hearing this, smiled at Ash's words, and allowed the trio to finish the trip in contemplative silence.

* * *

**(A/N) Hey everyone! Sorry if the first chapter is a little boring, but the next chapter will definitely be longer, and this was necessary to set the scene for the story. I should have the next chapter up within 2 days, but probably tomorrow. Let me know what you think about it.**

**Until next time, **

**-Ice**


	2. New Friends and Enemies

After thanking Ross for giving them a tour of the city, it was starting to get a little late.

"Hey Ash, Misty. Why don't we go find a snack and then pack it in for the night?" suggested Brock.

"Okay. Let's go get ice cream!" Ash replied. Misty nodded, silently agreeing with the idea.

They started off towards a nearby ice cream stand, right next to the Museum, but at that moment, Ash saw his new friend, Bianca.

"Hey guys, I'll be back soon! I'm just gonna go say hi to a friend of mine!" he yelled as he raced off from the group, trying to catch up to Bianca.

"Ash, wait up!" called Misty. However, their attempts to call Ash back were in vain.

* * *

Bianca turned down an alleyway, and to Ash, simply disappeared. He had no idea where she could've gone.

"Pikachu, Pika!" Pikachu cried out from Ash's shoulder, jumping off in the process.

Ash thought Pikachu had found Bianca, but, in fact, he had found a water fountain for Pokémon. Ash chuckled while walking over to retrieve Pikachu, who was currently disheartened by the fact that no one was there to turn the handle on the fountain for him.

A girl walked up to the fountain that looked like Bianca, and turned the handle for Pikachu.

Pikachu let out a delighted, "Chaaa." in the process of soaking himself. Ash caught up to Pikachu, and tried to call him back, asking if he wanted any ice cream. He then decided to look up to see just who had turned the handle for Pikachu.

"Oh hey Bianca! Thanks for turning the handle for Pikachu here!" Ash thanked her enthusiastically.

"Pika!" Pikachu followed in his trainer's actions.

She walked around the fountain, and stepped up to Ash. Then, she walked around him, examining him, and ran off through a sidestreet, leaving a very confused Ash. Seeing as how he was lost, Ash decided to follow her.

But little did Ash know, someone was following his new friend as well, only they had ill intentions...

* * *

As three familiar faces to our trio of heroes sat down to enjoy some ice cream, a boat zoomed past, drenching them, and ruining their ice cream, enraging a violet haired women by the name of Jessie.

"Jessie! Do you know who that was?" James questioned.

"Grrrr... All I know is that they owe me an ice cream!" Jessie replied hotly.

"Jessie, I think dat was Annie and Oakley!" Meowth provided.

"I don't care about who they are as long as I get my ice cream!" Jessie replied, still upset over her ice cream being ruined.

"Jessie, you might want to know that Annie and Oakley are spies working for Giovanni!" James replied in a hushed tone.

Jessie suddenly had a revelation, "Well if they're spies for the boss, why don't we follow them. It could be our chance to impress the boss!" she smirked, "Plus, they still owe me a mint chocolate chip."

* * *

As Bianca was walking down a street next to a canal, a boat pulled up to her, with two women inside.

"Excuse me!" The blonde haired one said, "Where'd you get that shirt? ...Latias." she finished in a sinister tone.

Latias gasped, 'How could they know that I'm not a human girl?' she thought frantically as the two women called out their Ariados and Espeon to corner her. 'I wish that boy with the Pikachu was still here.' she hoped.

As the Espeon had just trapped her in a psychic hold, she couldn't escape the String Shot that was inevitably going to bind her to the wall. Latias just hoped someone would come along and save her.

At that moment, a certain hat wearing trainer and his electric mouse arrived next to Latias, who was bound to a wall. Ash couldn't believe that someone would attack a person with no Pokémon on them.

Latias was slightly surprised that the boy with the Pikachu had actually shown up to help her.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Ash roared as he untied Latias.

"Oh look, the little girl has a bodyguard." Annie teased.

"Maybe you should give her some tips on fashion." Oakley suggested in a tone full of malice.

Ash wasn't quite sure what led to this situation, but he was sure about one thing. He would get his friend out of here.

"We can't let anyone get in our way, so I suggest you leave." Annie told him.

"Never!" Ash yelled at the two spies.

"I guess you want to do this the hard way. Espeon, use Psybeam!" she commanded.

Ash saw that the beam was headed towards Latias, and stepped in the way of the attack, taking it head on. He quickly shook the attack off and glared at Annie and Oakley. "That's a dirty trick." he growled, "And two can play at that game! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" he countered.

"Pikachu!" exclaimed Pikachu as a bolt of lightning arced out from his body, hitting Espeon, Annie and Oakley, leaving them paralyzed for the moment.

"C'mon, let's move!" Ash cried as he grabbed Latias' hand and proceeded to run in a different direction.

Pikachu, looking back, saw that he had not shocked Ariados, so he gave Ariados a shock, just to be sure, and then caught back up with his trainer.

* * *

Pikachu, Ash, and Latias, who was currently disguised, were running through the city's alleyways, and succeeding at evading the Ariados and Espeon. As they reached a clearing, Ash wasn't sure where to turn. Latias saw his hesitation, and decided to drag Ash up a flight of stairs, Pikachu in tow.

"Woah!" Ash exclaimed, not expecting to be dragged up stairs, "Where are we going?" he asked.

Latias gave no answer, and as soon as they reached the top of the stairs, she pointed over a railing. Ash was amazed that she knew this is where his friends were, but as he turned back around, Latias was nowhere to be found.

"Bianca? … She's not here. Where did she go?" Ash questioned silently.

Latias heard Ash's words as she went away from him, and thought to herself, 'So he knows Bianca? Hmmm. I'll have to ask her about this. I wish there was some way I could thank him in my human form.' she sighed, unable to express her gratitude to her savior.

"Hey Ash! We're going to go to the museum!" Misty's voice brought Ash out of his trance.

"You should've gotten some ice cream! It's really good!" Brock yelled to him.

"Alright, I'll meet you guys there." he replied to his friends down below.

'I don't know what was up with that whole encounter, and I'm sure that was Bianca, right? But, something just seemed… different.' his thoughts trailed off as he walked in the direction of the museum.

* * *

**(A/N) This chapter is a lot shorter than I wanted it to be, and, in fact, not longer than the last chapter, but overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. Tell me what you guys think I'm doing wrong, and what I'm doing right in a review, and PM with any questions. Thanks to RGGod for the first review, as well!**

**Until next time,**

**-Ice**


	3. History

As Ash headed over to the museum, he was mentally entertaining the possibility that the person he had just helped out was actually not Bianca.

Ash was brought out of his train of thought when Pikachu tapped him on the shoulder, and pointed towards the museum. Ash noticed Brock and Misty waving at him.

"Hey Ash, did you catch up with her?" Misty inquired.

"You could say that." he replied, lost in thought.

Misty frowned at his reply, and looked over at Brock, who shrugged, "Hey Ash, why don't we go into the museum now?" He suggested.

"...Huh? Oh, sure." Ash replied after he processed the question.

"You know," Misty started as they walked into the museum, "I think something happened to him. He's really deep in thought."Brock nodded in agreement.

"Here, I have an idea. Hey Ash!" Brock called.

"Yeah, what's up?" Ash said without turning around.

"Look, we know something's bothering you, and it looks like you can't really do anything about it now. So, why don't you just relax, and enjoy the museum?" Brock advised.

"...I guess you're right." Ash admitted with a sigh, "I'll try to relax." he finished with a smile.

"Alright, let's have some fun!" Misty exclaimed as the trio headed off into the museum.

(Line break)

As our heroes entered the museum, Ash was scanning the area for any more information on the two Pokemon he had heard about earlier, Latias and Latios.

"Hello! a voice called out from behind them, "Allow me to give you all a tour of the museum. You three look new around here. I'll tell you a little about this beautiful city in the process." he offered.

"Thanks!" Ash accepted, " My name is Ash, and this is my buddy Pikachu! he finished.

Pikachu responded to this with a cheerful "Pikachu!"

"My name is Brock." Brock told the man.

"And I'm Misty!" Misty chimed.

"And my name is Lorenzo." he told the trio, "Let's get started!"

* * *

As Ash, Misty and Brock were led around the museum by Lorenzo, he stopped in front of a large object that seemed to be attracting the attention of many people.

Ash, Brock and Misty were all lost in thought about what this contraption could be, but were brought out of their thoughts by an explanation from Lorenzo, "This is the Defense Mechanism of Altomare, or DMA, for short. What it does is sort of self explanatory… It is here to protect the city if it is ever under attack. There is a place for a Soul Dew in this machine, which is a jewel that contains the soul of a deceased Latias or Latios." Lorenzo explained.

"Wow..." Ash, Brock and Misty chorused in unison.

Lorenzo took this time to tell the trio about Altomare's two guardians, "A long time ago, " he began, drawing the attention of Ash, Brock and Misty, "Altomare was just a small town. One day, an old couple walking along the beach found two unconscious children lying in the sand. They brought the children home and took care of them. Soon after, a dark cloud above Altomare rained down shards of darkness. Anything these shards touched became dark as well." he paused to let the trio process this.

"Hmmm…" Ash hummed in thought.

Lorenzo continued, "One shard was about to hit the old couple when the children started to glow and all the shards were destroyed. The children revealed themselves as Latios and Latias. More appeared, one of them carrying the Soul Dew. Their power, combined with the Soul Dew's, shone upon the dark cloud, vanquishing it. In gratitude for their help, the two Latios and Latias gave the Soul Dew to the old couple."

"So what happened to the original Latias and Latios? We were told that the current guardians are the original's children." Ash inquired.

"Ah, so you know a little bit about the city's guardians already?" Lorenzo asked, to which he received nods in response, "Alright, so the current ones are his children, and his mate, the original Latias, was killed along with Latios whilst they were defending the city from a Kabutops and Aerodactyl, though not many know."

"So are there two souls in the current Soul Dew?" Brock theorized.

"Yes, there are. You're quite perceptive." he confirmed, "These souls only move on once they are replaced by new ones."

"So would there be any way to remove the souls from the Soul Dew?" Misty asked, "I mean, besides them being replaced by other souls."

"Well, it's not a sure bet, but if a being gave their aura to the Soul Dew, it may be able to form a new Latios or Latias, but that would more than likely result in the giver of the aura dying." Lorenzo responded.

"Ah, I see." Misty responded.

Little did Ash know, Annie and Oakley were gathering as much information on Latios and Latias as they could, spying on their trip through the museum to gather info.

* * *

**(A/N) I know that I keep putting off the action, but this was just a good place to stop this chapter, so sorry if you were expecting more than some dialogue. Anyway, let me know what you like and don't like about the story, and as always, PM me with any questions or suggestions or leave them in a review. Next chapter should be out much faster than this one. **

**Until next time, **

**-Ice**


	4. Revelations

After the tour through the museum, our trio of heroes decided to go to the Pokémon Center, and pack it in for the night.

As they walked through the doors, Nurse Joy greeted them with, "Good evening! Would you like me to heal any of your Pokémon?"

As Brock and Misty shook their heads, Ash nodded, "Could you give my Totodile a check-up please? He participated in the Tour de Altomare earlier today."

Nurse Joy replied, "Sure! I'll call you up when I'm done." as Brock raced up to her.

"Oh Nurse Joy, if only you could give me a check- Ah! Misty, not the ear!" Brock yelped as he was being pulled away by Misty.

"C'mon lover boy. Let's go before the police have to give you a 'check-up'." Misty scolded.

"But that would mean I get to see Jenny!" he moaned.

"Uhh..." Ash trailed off as Nurse Joy went to give Totodile a check-up.

As Ash went to go sit down, he thought about the day's events.

'...Was that person actually Bianca? I know that she looked the same, and was wearing the same clothing, but... the first time I saw her, I'm pretty sure that she was wearing a beret. Oh well. I'll find out tomorrow. Maybe it was just her twin...' Ash's thoughts drifted off as Brock and Misty re-entered the Pokémon Center.

"Trainer Ash Ketchum, your Pokémon is ready to be picked up." Nurse Joy called.

Ash walked up to the counter, "Thanks Nurse Joy! How is he doing?" he inquired as he took Totodile's Poké Ball.

"He's doing just fine! All he needs is a good night's sleep." she responded.

"Alright, thank you! And goodnight!" he called as he went up the stairs to his room to sleep, Brock and Misty in tow.

* * *

"Ahhh!" Ash woke up, sweating profusely.

'What was that about?' he thought, 'That was really weird. I dreamt that I was in the middle of a big fight with Team Rocket, and that Brock and Misty were fighting with me. And, something-no, someone died."

He shook his head as he rose from his bed, and went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face, so as to clear his mind.

Ash had the feeling that what happened in his dream shouldn't be disregarded, and decided to tell Brock and Misty during breakfast.

As he walked down the stairs to the cafeteria, he spotted Brock and Misty already getting their breakfast, and getting a table. Brock waved to Ash and motioned for him to come over.

After getting his breakfast and sitting down, Ash decided this would be a good time to tell Brock and Misty, "So, last night, I had a dream where all three of us were fighting against Team Rocket, and someone died. I don't know if it was any of us three, but it wasn't someone on Team Rocket." Ash explained.

"But Ash, that was just a dream, you can't be sure that it'll happen." Misty responded, to which Brock nodded in agreement to.

"I know Misty, but I have the feeling that the dream was just a warning, so I'm going to call Professor Oak and switch out some Pokémon. Just have a team of six capable Pokémon ready to go." he advised and went off to the lobby of the Pokémon Center, locating the videophones in the far left of the center.

Ash punched in the number for Professor Oak, and waited as the phone connected.

"Hey Professor!" Ash greeted.

"Hello Ash, how are you doing?" Professor Oak inquired as his picture came up on the screen.

"I'm doing well Professor, but I called you to make some switches." Ash responded.

"What for, my boy? You just finished the Silver Conference." he stated.

"Well Professor, I have a feeling that something is going to happen today. Something that will require my strongest." Ash told Professor Oak.

"Alright, who would you like to switch out?" he asked.

"I'd like to switch Totodile for Bulbasaur, and Noctowl for Snorlax, please." Ash requested.

"Alright, you know the drill." Professor Oak told Ash as he exchanged the Pokémon.

"Okay, thanks Professor!" Ash told him.

"You're welcome. Stay safe Ash." he replied.

"I will." Ash responded, and with that, hung up.

Ash, Brock and Misty met back up in the lobby, and decided to explore the city more, as there was so much to see.

The trio wandered around the city for a few hours, seeing various sights, when they decided it was time for lunch.

After a satisfying lunch, they walked around the city more, stopping to get the ice cream that Ash had missed out on before.

They explored a little more of the city, and, before they knew it, it was early evening, so they decided to stop for dinner, and then check out a few more things after dinner.

After Ash had finished his dinner, he had decided to go off with Pikachu to find Bianca, and see if she could show them parts of the city that they had missed, which Brock and Misty thought was a good idea.

Ash was following the directions that Bianca had given him, when he spotted Bianca running down the street.

Ash decided that trying to catch up to her was the best approach, he ran after her.

Ash saw her turn down an alleyway and ran to catch up with her.

As Ash rounded the corner to the alleyway, he was greeted with a dead end. He thought he had taken a wrong turn, but decided to see if there was anything he couldn't see, and tried to knock on the wall. Ash nearly fell over in surprise when he realized that the wall in front of him was, in fact, not solid.

'What could go wrong?' he thought, and proceeded through the illusion in front of him, only to be greeted with a beautiful garden.

As soon as he and Pikachu stepped in, their presence was noticed by a certain blue dragon Pokémon.

Ash was too busy marveling in the sight of the garden to notice said dragon speeding towards him and Pikachu.

Ash gave a startled gasp as he was tackled, and instantly recognized that the Pokémon who had tackled him saw him as a threat.

"Wait, I'm not here to hurt you!" Ash pleaded. However, his plea fell on deaf ears as he and Pikachu were pinned to the wall by a Psychic courtesy of the Pokémon in front of him, who was currently baring its fangs at the two.

Ash's eyes widened in realization as he recognized the Pokémon in front of him to be none other than the legendary Pokémon Latios.

"Latios, what's wrong?" a feminine voice inquired.

Latios moved aside to give Bianca a clear view of the invader, and she was surprised by who it was.

"Ash, why are you in here?" she asked incredulously as Latios gave her a questioning look, as Bianca knew the person who had just found his way into his and Latias' safe haven.

"Uh... If I could get out of the hold of Psychic, it'd be a lot easier to talk." Ash bargained in a strained voice.

Latios decided to entertain his request, and threw him down onto the floor with Psychic.

"Thanks." Ash told Latios, who was taken aback by this. He figured that the human in front of him, Ash, would be angry at him because he threw Ash on the floor.

"Bianca, is there anything wrong?" someone called.

"No, everything is under control. Although you might want to come here anyway." Bianca suggested.

"Ash?"

"Lorenzo?"

"So it seems you already know my grandfather?" Bianca asked, although it was more of a statement than a question.

"Uh, yeah. He gave me and my friends a tour of the museum yesterday." Ash responded.

"So how did you manage to find your way in here?" Lorenzo questioned sternly.

"Well, I can tell that you guys are angry with me for coming here, so I'll explain. After lunch, me and my friends wanted to know if there were any cool places that we should see around the city. So I decided to try and find your house, using the directions you gave me, when I saw Bianca going down the street, and decided to follow her so I could ask you about the city, and here I am now." Ash explained.

"So you followed me into the garden?" Bianca asked him as she received a glare from Latios.

"Well, kinda. I didn't actually follow you in. I saw you turn down this alleyway, and when I didn't see you, I decided to see if there was anything behind the wall, so I tried to knock on the wall. When my hand went through it, I kinda realized there was something behind it."

Bianca was relieved to know that Ash wasn't here to hurt the dragons, and she now seemed to not be angry with Ash.

Latias was curious as to why her brother, Bianca or Lorenzo had not yet returned, so she decided to investigate the situation for herself, after reverting to her human form.

Latios nearly had a heart attack when he saw his sister coming towards them, and tried to get her to go back, telling her through their mental link that this was a potentially dangerous situation.

Latias, being the responsible dragon she was, disregarded what Latios said, and approached Ash anyway.

Ash had to do a double-take when he saw Bianca and her apparent twin.

Bianca sighed when she saw Latias coming towards them, "Ash, this is my twin, Tia." she explained.

Latias immediately recongnized Ash as the boy with the Pikachu who saved her, and gave a friendly wave, which Ash returned.

"You know Ash too?" Bianca asked incredulously.

Latias nodded vigorously and decided that since Ash was in their garden, it was safe to change back to her real form.

Latios, Bianca and Lorenzo watched in a mixture of shock and horror as Latias reverted back to her true form.

"You're a Latias?!" Ash questioned in disbelief.

Latias cooed and flew up to Ash, nuzzling him.

"So you're the one I saved from those two attackers?" Ash asked, to which Latias nodded.

Pikachu decided to see if Latias wanted to play a game, and went off with her to do just that.

"Uh, sorry for coming in here. I didn't know this was your garden, Latios." Ash apologized.

Latios was thankful that the human in from of him had saved his sister, but he still didn't trust humans. His response was to just stare at Ash.

"Sorry about Latios, Ash. He really doesn't trust humans. It's not just you." Bianca explained.

"That's okay. I wouldn't trust anyone who came into my home at random, either." Ash replied with a smile and a chuckle as he watched Pikachu and Latias play with the Pokémon living in the garden.

As Ash, Bianca and Lorenzo engaged in conversation, two of Giovanni's spies named Annie and Oakley readied themselves to capture two legendary dragons.

They had gathered all of the information they needed, and had their attack all planned out.

As Oakley retrieved their spy bot, she gave Annie the signal to start, and entered the garden undetected through Lorenzo's workshop.

Annie entered the garden from the illusion of the wall, taking everyone by surprise, "Espeon, Psychic!" she commanded as Espeon was released from his Poké Ball.

Everyone was caught in the grasp of Psychic, save for Latios and Latias, as they were powerful Psychics as well.

Latios took this time to tackle Espeon, effectively knocking him out.

Annie just smirked as she returned Espeon, and threw down a smoke pellet. Latios and Latias used Psychic to dissipate the smokescreen, only to find out that their assailant had escaped.

'Shoot. I don't like the feeling of this' Latios cursed inwardly.

"Those guys were the ones that attacked Latias earlier!" Ash exclaimed.

"So then they must've been after something." Lorenzo deduced.

"And they're not gonna get away with it." Ash growled.

Latios then noticed that the Soul Dew was not on its pedestal, and called out to Latias.

All that Ash, Bianca and Lorenzo heard were seemingly random coos and squeaks, until Latias motioned to the pedestal, at which point Bianca noticed the Soul Dew was missing.

"Grandpa, the Soul Dew was taken!" Bianca exclaimed.

"What?! Let's go get it back!" Lorenzo replied.

Latios took off to retrieve the Soul Dew, and Latias waited for Ash to direct Charizard before taking off.

"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed as he called out Charizard and got on his back, telling him, "Charizard, I need you to follow Latias for me. Someone stole the Soul Dew from the garden, and we've gotta get it back!" Ash explained.

Charizard growled at the mention of thieves, and spread his wings, ready to fly.

"Alright, let's get it back!" Ash cried as Charizard took off after Latias.

The city looked perfectly normal as they flew over, the few citizens in the streets were in no hurry at all. It was almost as if nothing was amiss.

A fierce cry brought Ash out of his train of thought, as an Aerodactyl came out of the buildings, aimed directly for Latias.

Ash noticed this and called out to Latias, "Latias, to your left!"

Latias was in no position to avoid the Aerodactyl coming at her neck with a Crunch attack, and Ash noticed this.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" he commanded quickly.

The Aerodactyl was not expecting to be hit with a jet of flames. Even though she was resistant to fire, it didn't help that her mouth was open.

Ash noticed that he had drawn Aerodactyl's focus to himself, and didn't give her a chance to recover.

"Pikachu, hit 'em with a Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled.

The Aerodactyl managed to endure the electric attack, and Ash noticed that something was wrong with her, as no normal type could just shake off a full powered Thunderbolt from Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Thundershock on Aerodactyl's collar! Aim for the light!" he advised.

As Pikachu's attack destroyed Aerodactyl's collar, she calmed down immediately, and went up to Ash, with her head down.

Ash immediately knew that Aerodactyl was not in control of her actions and sought forgiveness, so he quickly responded, "Shhh. It's okay, everyone's okay." Ash soothed as stroked her head.

"Hey Aerodactyl, did two people with an Espeon and an Ariados do this to you?" Ash asked.

"Do you want to help us?" Ash asked, to which Aerodactyl nodded and roared. With that, they were off to the museum.

* * *

Back at the museum, Latios was in big trouble. Currently, he, along with the Soul Dew, were stuck in the Defense Mechanism of Altomare, and it was pretty painful for Latios.

Latios just wished that he could contact his sister, but the DMA was draining his power, and he couldn't afford to go unconcious from the effort.

Oakley came running into the room that he and Annie were in, and told her, "The kid with the Pikachu and a Latias are back."

Annie just smirked, "They won't know what hit 'em." she replied, malice in her voice as the two spies went outside.

* * *

"There's the museum." Ash whispered to himself, nervous to see what would come next.

He saw Annie and Oakley outside of the museum, and knew that he was a target when he saw both of their Pokémon staring at him.

Espeon fired a Shadow Ball at Charizard, who still had Ash on his back.

"Dodge left, Charizard!" Ash told him.

Charizard dodged the Shadow Ball with ease, and smirked as he delivered a Flamethrower to Espeon.

"Good job!" Ash praised.

Little did Ash and Charizard know, the Shadow Ball was just a distraction, as Charizard was quickly wrapped up with a String Shot courtesy of Oakley's Ariados.

Ash fell off of Charizard, and was speeding towards the ground as he recalled Charizard, to save him from at least a 3 story fall.

"Aaaah!" Ash screamed. He thought it was all over. Latias was too far away to save him, and he would die as soon as he hit the ground.

Ash was less than 10 feet from the ground when he landed on the back of Aerodactyl, who flew in to save him.

Ash blinked, surprised to be alive, when he realized his savior to be none other than Aerodactyl, "Aerodactyl?" he questioned.

He received an, "Aero!" in reply.

Aerodactyl was mad now. Annie and Oakley had captured her and put a collar in her to begin with, and they had almost just killed her savior.

"Thanks! Ready for our first battle?" Ash asked.

Aerodactyl responded with a roar and flew down, letting Ash off her back.

"Alright, Aerodactyl! Get in close with a Wing Attack!" Aerodactyl flew up to Espeon with lightning fast agility.

"Get it with a Crunch!" Aerodactyl gave Espeon the hardest Crunch that she could muster. Espeon couldn't take the super effective attack, and fainted instantly.

Ash looked to the right, only to see that Latias had dispatched Ariados.

"Great work you two!" Ash said, causing Latias to coo in response and Aerodactyl to roar in delight, "Latias, knock Annie and Oakley out for me, okay?" Latias nodded and used a Psychic the two spies unconcious before they could resist.

"Let's go everyone!" Ash yelled as he went inside the museum, Latias and Aerodactyl in tow.

Recalling where the DMA was, Ash went to find it, figuring that would be the place Latios would most likely be.

Ash had found the DMA rather quickly, and saw Latios struggling to escape.

"Hang on Latios, I'll get you out of there!" Ash promised, "Latias, do you think you can get Latios and the Soul Dew out of the DMA safely?"

"Laa." she responded as she flew over to the DMA and fired a DragonBreath at the pedestal holding the Soul Dew, and one at the arm above it, effectively freeing Latios and the Soul Dew, which Ash noticed had turned black.

Latios gave a nod to Ash and embraced his sister, when he noticed the state of the Soul Dew.

Latios realized that the Soul Dew had become corrupted, and knew what trouble that brought. He explained the situation to Ash through basic gestures.

"There's something wrong with the Soul Dew?" Ash questioned as the eon dragons flew out if the museum and into the sky.

When the two dragons were high above the city, they saw just how bad the situation was.

"Brother, what are we going to do?" Latias asked as a huge tidal wave approached the city.

"Well, we have to stop it." Latios replied, "We're guardians for a reason."

"Okay, I'm ready." Latias said. Both of them drew on their power, readying their strongest attacks to protect the city.

Latios realized that he would need more power, and knew what he had to do.

Both Latias and Latios grunted when the tidal wave impacted their attacks, Latios more so.

As the tidal wave dissipated, Latias went over to her brother, breathing heavily. Latias saw that he was glowing, and knew what he had done.

"Brother, why did you do it?" Latias said, holding back tears.

"I had to protect the city." he stated somberly.

"There has to be something I can do!" Latias sobbed as her brother winced and panted harder.

"Well, if you can find someone with a pure aura, they could be able to save me, but they will most likely die." Latios replied as he winced again-the pain was getting worse.

"Hold on brother, I know who to get." Latias told him.

"Be quick sister, I have little time left." Latios warned as his sister flew off to find someone.

* * *

Ash was surprised to see Latias coming towards him, and even more surprised when she brushed Pikachu off of him and pushed Aerodactyl away.

"What's going on?" Ash questioned as Latias put her claws on his back, and teleported away, leaving a stunned Pikachu and Aerodactyl.

* * *

"Hey Latios, why am I here?" he inquired.

"Well Ash, I'm dying, and only someone with a pure aura can save me. Latias brought you to me. If you go through with this you could die. Are you okay with this?" Latios warned.

"Sure Latios. I can't just leave a friend to die." Ash said with a smile.

"Thank you!" Latias squealed and nuzzled Ash.

"Alright Ash, are you ready?" Latios inquired.

"Whenever you are." he replied.

"Okay then, I need you to stand on this side of Latias, and hold her claw. Latias, take my other claw. Make sure you don't let go." Latios ordered.

Ash did this, and thought to himself, 'I hope everything turns out okay.'

"Don't worry Ash, I'll make sure everything turns out fine." Latios reassured.

"Wait, how did- Oh, wait. You're a psychic." Ash recalled. Latios chuckled at this, and started the procedure.

Halfway through, Ash glowed a vibrant blue, and passed out. Latias looked worried, but didn't let go.

When the procedure was done, a ball of light passed through Latias and absorbed into Ash, startling Latias, who let go in surprise.

"It's okay sister, it's all over now. That was just part of my soul. It's just to make sure he survives. Mine will recover through rest, but his wouldn't have." Latios reassured.

"Sister, I have to repair the Soul Dew. Take Ash with you to the garden, please." Latios requested.

"Be safe, brother." she told him as she flew off towards the museum with Ash in her hands.

As Latias flew back down to Aerodactyl and Pikachu, she told them to follow along.

Quickly flying over the city, Latias saw the roof over the garden, and passed through it, which Aerodactyl was hesitant to pass through. With enough coaxing from Pikachu, who was on her back, she passed through it.

Latias arrived at the garden with Ash and laid him down on the grass.

Latios then entered the garden with a repaired Soul Dew in his hands, and placed it on the pedestal.

"Sister, we should probably go to a different place. People must know we live here now." Latios suggested to Latias before he fell unconcious.

Brock, Misty, Pikachu, Bianca and Lorenzo all entered the garden, and saw Latias tending to an unconcious Latios and Ash.

"We should probably take them to our house, Grandpa. They're not safe here." Bianca suggested.

"How are we going to move Latios? He's at least a few hundred pounds." Brock asked.

"This could be a long night." Lorenzo sighed as they all went about transporting Ash and Latios.

* * *

**(A/N) This took me way too long to get out, but I was without internet all of last week, so that's part of why it took so long. Hopefully this chapter is a lot better than before the revision. Let me know what you think! **

**Until next time,**

**Ice**


	5. Time to Learn!

After a long night of moving Ash and Latios back to safety, everyone save said dragon and trainer were awake.

During the night, Lorenzo had gone to the Pokémon Center and left a message for Brock and Misty, telling them that Ash was at his house, and they were welcome to come visit.

Latias woke up in the morning a little later than she usually did, but that could be accredited to her stopping the city from being destroyed.

Although it was a tight fit, Latias could normally fit through a doorway. Latios, however, was a different story.

'How did they get him in here?' she marveled to herself, staring at her brother. She dismissed the thought before changing into her human form, and proceeding downstairs.

"Hey Latias!" Bianca greeted from the living room couch, "Sleep well?"

Bianca got a nod and friendly wave in response.

"Are Ash or Latios awake?" Bianca inquired.

Latias shook her head no as she walked to the kitchen, and grabbed some berries for her breakfast.

Bianca was sitting in the living room, waiting for either Ash or Latios to awaken, when she heard a knock on the door.

"Coming!" she yelled as she got up from her seat to answer the door.

"Good morning Bianca!" Misty greeted.

"Morning Misty, you too Brock!" Bianca returned the greeting.

"Morning." Brock grumbled. He was exhausted from moving two eons last night with Lorenzo as his only help. Misty just had to wake him up at six in the morning.

"Is Ash awake?" Misty asked.

"No, not yet. He seems to be doing fine otherwise, though." Bianca replied.

"That's good to hear." Misty told Bianca as Brock proceeded to make up for his lack of sleep on the living room floor.

"Morning all." Lorenzo greeted as he walked down the steps.

His greeting was returned by everyone as he sat down in the living room, and engaged in conversation with the others, waiting for Latios and Ash to wake up.

While the conversation was taking place, the aforementioned dragon was waking up.

Latios opened his eyes, half awake, and was surprised to find himself sleeping in Lorenzo's house.

He looked at the door, and looked down at himself, and thought, 'How did they get me in here?'

Latios pondered this for a moment, and shook the thought off, focusing on what had happened last night.

He looked outside so as to tell the time, and was not surprised that it was just after midday. It was also not surprising to Latios that Ash was still asleep. After Latios scanned Ash with his psychic powers, he found Ash to be perfectly healthy and that he would be fully recovered in a couple hours, at most, and would awaken shortly after.

Latios went downstairs, to let everyone know that he was awake, to their delight.

Everyone continued conversing downstairs while waiting for Ash to wake up.

The hours before Ash woke up went by fairly quickly, with everyone, save for Latios and Latias, talking, and before anyone had realized, he had awoken.

Ash woke up feeling different, but he couldn't place his finger on what it was.

He closed his eyes to think about what had happened last night, and remembered that Latios had given him some of his soul and aura.

Eyes still closed, Ash was lost in his thoughts when he saw a blue spot where Pikachu was lying down next to him.

He wasn't necessarily surprised by this, as he had recently been seeing flashes of blue where his friends or Pokémon were, only to have them flicker and disappear a few seconds after he saw them.

He was surprised, however, when that blue did not go away, and it felt like he was able to sense the presence of Pikachu. He opened and closed his eyes only to see that same blue spot and feel that same presence when he focused on that.

'Huh. I wonder why I can see that blue spot where Pikachu is?' Ash pondered, 'Oh well. I guess I'll ask Latios or Latias about it when I see them.'

Ash decided to continue resting upstairs, as he was still tired from the previous night's events.

Downstairs, Latios figured that it was about the time that Ash should've woken up, and went upstairs to check on Ash.

As he got to the doorway to Ash's room, he mentally cursed doors for being so small as he opened it with his psychic powers, awakening Pikachu with the noise.

"Pikachu." Pikachu mumbled a greeting, receiving a nod from Latios in response.

Ash was awake, and was just laying down, thinking. He wasn't paying attention to Latios, as he was lost in thought.

"Ash? Hello? Anybody home?" Pikachu asked while jumping in front of Ash, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Hey buddy. I was just thinking." Ash replied.

"About?" Pikachu questioned.

"Well, when I woke up this morning, I closed my eyes to think about what happened last night, and there was a blue spot where you were, and it's almost like I was able to sense you." Ash told Pikachu.

"I can't think of why that would happen, but I would ask Latios." Pikachu advised.

"Wait, Pikachu. Did you just say you don't know why that might've happened and to ask Latios about it?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, why?" Pikachu responded slowly.

"I think I just understood that. Not like the basics, but it's like I got every word." Ash explained with a smile.

"Really? Can you understand me Ash?" Latios asked him.

"Yeah I can!" Ash exclaimed.

"Huh. I suppose that's from the part of my soul I gave you so you would survive." Latios reasoned.

"You gave me part of your soul? How does that work?" asked Ash, confused.

"Well, during the aura transfer, your body must have given nearly your whole soul along with your aura. You wouldn't have pulled through if it weren't for me giving you some of my soul." explained Latios.

"Thank you," Ash began, "But what's the difference between your soul and mine?"

"It was my pleasure Ash. Think of it as returning the favor for saving my sister, Latios paused, "Because I'm a legendary Pokémon, my soul is much stronger than yours, and will repair itself, so don't worry about having only half of a soul. Both of our souls will be complete by next week at the latest."

"How can you tell?" asked Ash.

"Psychic legendary Pokémon, remember? Latios deadpanned.

"Right. Forgot about that." Ash said sheepishly as Latios and Pikachu chuckled.

"So what is going on, then?" Ash asked.

"Well, I don't really know that much about aura, but let me start here: Aura is the life energy inside all living things, people, Pokémon and nature alike. I know that many legendary Pokémon have the ability to manipulate that energy, but we don't, as we are not experienced enough, and only a handful of humans have that ability. That's about all I know, so you being able to control aura is quite rare, even though what happened last night could've advanced your ability." explained Latios.

"That's awesome! I'll have to tell this to everyone back in Pallet!" exclaimed Ash.

"Ash, you should be careful about who you tell this to. Everyone here is trustworthy, but the same can't be said for many others." Latios warned.

This hadn't really occurred to Ash. He was still elated that he could use aura, and talk to Pokémon.

"Alright, I understand. I don't want to make myself a target." admitted Ash.

"So do you want to go downstairs to show everyone that you're okay?" asked Latios..

"Sure, but I don't think I'm gonna tell anyone about this whole aura thing until I know more. You and Pikachu are the only ones I've told." Ash told Latios.

"That's fine by me. Maybe you can check out the library today? I'm kind of curious about it now." Latios admitted.

"Sounds fun. Although, I don't know where it is. Could you help me find it later?" asked Ash.

"Sure." Latios replied.

With that, Ash got up and went downstairs with Pikachu and Latios.

"Ash!" five voices exclaimed at the same time, clearly relieved to see Ash healthy.

"Hey guys!" Ash replied, getting hugs from everyone in the room.

Everyone kept asking him what had happened last night, and Ash responded, saying that he had saved Latios' life, to which Latios returned the favor. Saying that everyone was in awe after the full story was told would be an understatement.

When asked if having the soul of a Latios would affect his life as a human, Ash didn't know. So naturally, he asked Latios.

"I'm not really sure Ash. I'll see if I can find anything about it. Maybe some of the other legendaries will know." Latios responded, shaking his head no.

"You don't know?" Ash tried to make it look like he was guessing at what Latios had said, even though he could understand every word he said.

"Ash, if Latios doesn't know, maybe you could check the library or the museum for any insight." Bianca suggested.

"Sounds like a plan!" Ash agreed, "Let's go now!" yelled Ash as he ran out of the front door.

"Ash! You don't even know where the library is!" Brock yelled at Ash.

"Ash! What about me!?" Pikachu yelled.

Hearing Pikachu's voice, Ash turned around and came back for Pikachu, asked for directions, and took off.

'I wonder if he's always like this?' Latias wondered in amusement as Ash tore off towards the library.

Ash was sprinting so fast that he arrived at the library in less than 5 minutes.

"Wow Ash, you actually didn't get lost." Pikachu said sincerely.

"Thanks buddy." Ash mumbled as he entered the library.

Ash had no need to use a library back home, as Professor Oak had let him use his books when he was curious about something, so he had no idea how to find a book, especially in a huge library like this one.

Professor Oak's words echoed, 'Use the Dewey Decimal System...'

Ash jumped, 'Where did that come from?' he wondered.

"Hey Pikachu, can you help me look for anything about aura?" Ash whispered.

Receiving a nod in response, the two went off to find any books about aura, finding success almost immediately.

"Pikachu, c'mere." Ash called to Pikachu.

"Yeah Ash." responded Pikachu, hopping onto Ash's shoulder.

"Look at this. This looks like it would have something." Ash noted, holding a book called _Aura, a Basic Overview_.

"It might," Pikachu affirmed, "I also found a book on Latios and Latias, if you want to read that." he finished, showing Ash the book.

"Cool. Let's get going, then." Ash said as he took the two books to check them out.

* * *

**(A/N) Wow. This chapter took way longer than I would've like it to, but, regardless, it still feels great to be back with another chapter, regardless. Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter. Thanks! :D**

**Until next time,**

**-Ice**


End file.
